Help!! How do you catch a TRULY hard to catch horse?

Question

By truly hard to catch, I mean, I've done all the suggestions I've seen here and other places. In fact, I just bought the horse a month ago...was told he was hard to catch....and started working with him right away. I've only ridden him once, I haven't "worked" him hard, I've haltered him to feed, I go out and visit often -pet and treat, etc. without making him work. All of a sudden, today he's IMPOSSIBLE to catch. HELP I run him around and do all the atypical 'round pen' type of trying to catch. It doesn't work!!

Treats and food do NOT work with this horse. He acts as if I'm going to kill him and I can't get within 20 feet of him. I don't have a barn to run him in. I do have another gelding that stands perfectly still and is the best 'example'....but, it doesn't do any good.

The craziest and most confounded thing to me is that, the first month he hasn't been hard to catch at all. I would think it would be the opposite....He would have to learn to trust me before allowing me to catch him. But, it's almost like he got to know me and NOW is hard to catch. BUT, I haven't done anything but be nice to him and let him get acclimated here. I've only rode him once...the day I got him for about 10 minutes. So, it's not like I've been working him too hard. About the only thing here I haven't tried is roping him (can't rope) and trying the no water thing. Without some materials and time, I don't have anyway to make a corral or make my pasture smaller.

Answer 1

well i had that problem with a pony once and i had to take drastic measures to fix her. this is only as a last resort, nothing else works, have to-have to fix it solution. again this is drastic, if you can avoid doing it i would.
1.) remove the horse from all other horse and companions- why well often i have found truly hard or impossible to catch horses are herd bound or badly buddy sour. they dont care about humans or treats or interaction. sometimes you can use this to your advantage but if its backfiring or just not working- remove them from the herd.
2.) stall them- i hate stalling horses and this is extreme. stall with no turn out and no neigh-bors. you want the stall to be boring and unstimulating. why, well the horse either flat out does not care for humans or has an active dislike of them. you need to adress this. you do this so that you alone become the only form of interaction he has, you are the sole "pal" he can have. again often these horses are herd bound, they quickly become attached to you.
3.) feed as often as you can during the day, no less than 3 times a day. remove all but maybe a cup of grain a day. you are the bearer of all that is good and foodsome, you are their sole companion. they will quickly learn to like you. you also do not want them getting hot and energetic with no where to burn it off- it will destroy everything your doing. this is a grass hay buffet diet.

how does this work all together? well heres how i did it- and again if you can avoid doing it by all means try to.

remove them and stall them for oh about 48 hours with no turn out and no buddies. do not try to halter them do not leave a halter on them. you are just setting up the- i am your friend and i am good to know- phase.

once 48 hours or so has passed, start trying ot halter them to feed. no food without a halter- no matter how hard it is to get the halter on, if you cannot get it on NO food. try again in 15 minutes or so. treats are ok, but only if you get some form of progress. a rope around the neck, maybe you got it on their nose. you can reward the "try" if whatever it is . if it is at least an improvment treats are ok. now i am not saying starve them by any means, if you miss 2 feeding in a row then back off another day and try maybe just getting a rope on the neck to feed. a missed meal wont kill them, neither will an empty belly for a few hours.

if you can halter them more or less ok for feeding start haltering them between feedings for some hand grazing and hand walking. you are not working just taking a nice stroll, munching some grass. all in all just getting out of that stall- which by now is getting might old. try to set a regular time for the walks/grazing- they will look forward to it. now they should still have no buddies and no turnout. but you can start leaving more food in the stall so you dont have to come in as often to feed.

once you can easily halter them for walks/food start turn out. you need a small pen for this, less than an acre, preferable a round pen with grass or an outdoor arena. turn them out for 10-20 minutes but stay with them in the field- remember by now you are their companion, thier buddy. you dont have to hold them but leave the halter on for easy grabbing, they will not want to go back inside. just do some work out in the field with them- pick manure up, fill water troughs, whatever. your just watching them. continue with the hand walking and grazing but you can cut your visits down to 2 feedings a day 1 hand grazing and some turnout. so 3-4 visits depends on how you do it. you can also introduce stall toys again.

once you can easily catch them in the paddock, give them a buddy. only 1 and a people loving, easy to catch horse. have a horse that always hangs around the gate as soon as they hear your voice- to the point of obnoxious, thats the one you want. you can stop the hand walking now. stall both side by side at night, and for the mid day. you can also stop haltering ot feed, but if thats your ritual anyways for feeding continue. by now you are moving the bonding to the other horse- to a more appropriate friend. when the buddy gets lead out for turn out, your stinker will very much want ot go with and should quickly learn the routine. joe goes out then i go out, joe goes in , then i go in- type thought. keep it regimented, consistancy is key. if you cannot keep it consistant dont bother doing it at all.

now once you can catch the now reformed uncatchable horse, you can start inroducing him back ot the herd- but go slow, add the horses to him not him ot the herd. if you have a large herd that may not be possible, in that case pick a group of horses that hang together and are all people loving and easy to catch. let them bond into a small herd then relese the mini herd into the larger body of horses. your old but head should stick with them like glue.

after all this the horse should be easy to catch, you have had to force him to learn that people are not bad and catching is good, halters equal food, attention, friends, and all that is wonderful and horsey. now again i cannot stress enough that this is a drastic measure- it is time consuming and annoying. it has risks as well, and should only be done if you have no other choice and all else fails. i have only had to do it once and i hope i never have to do it again. it does work, all in all it took me 1 month to reform a pony so terrified of humans she shook if she so much as thought you were going to touch her. she was uncatchable, did not eat grain, refused all treats- no amount of bribing or chasing or anything worked. this girl hated humans and now she comes to the gate when called, easy to halter, loves food and grooming, has no more fear of people and is in fact very curious and outgoing now. lets total strangers pet her and gets jealous if no one pays her enough attention. now will this work for you, it should but you have ot be have consistancy, a firm will and you cannot - cannot stop once you start. if you stop half way it may leave you worse off than before you started hence my warning of *last resort* efforts.

Answer 2

On the basis that you need to get near him to show you don't mean to hurt him, there is a foolproof way but although it doesn't hurt the horse its not altogether nice...put him in a pen with food but no water. Go out to him 4 or 6 times a day and offer a bucket of water.Take it away if he doesn't want it. He will come eventually. When he does, catch him, hold him while he drinks and let him go again. I'm sure you know all the rest of things to do. I would stress that this is a last resort technique when all else has failed, and I don't recommend it unless you have tried everything else first. It does have the good point that you aren't doing anything bad to the horse ,in his mind, he will associate you with bringing water, he's not reasoning enough to know you are the cause of him not having any. And DON'T withhold water for 24 hours first, that is cruel. Give him the chance to come for it right from the start. It's a lot less cruel than many other methods I've seen, and not stressful for the horse in relation to his reaction to you

Answer 3

I've had this problem many times whilst working at a rescue centre and there are a few different ways of solving the problem. This takes a while to work but go into the pasture daily without a halter or leadrope and if you can, just give him a scratch, possibly take a treat for him and walk away from him before he walks away from you. Another method that i have never used myself is to chase him around until he is tired out. It doesn't work for some but it does for others. Take a bucket of feed into the pasture with a halter and lead but (hold the halter where your horse can't see it) and preferably away from his paddock mates, approach him with your back turned and hold the bucket out behind you. When he's close enough, turn to him and stroke his nose/cheek/neck and allow him to be comfortably eating from the bucket before you slip the rope around his neck then put the halter on. As for the other gelding, when he comes near you without invitation, throw your arms in the air and say something like 'go' or 'back off' in a very stern voice. If that doesn't work, don't hesitate to give him a good whack on the shoulder. Show your dominance and let him fear you rather than vice versa. When you do catch him, do as someone else has just commented and just bring him in to be groomed to begin with. Hope this helps and good luck! (:

Answer 4

if your horse doesn't want to be caught it's because he/she has a lack of respect for you. i had the same problem with the mare that i currently own. she would never let me catch her unless it was feeding time AND the other horses came up to the barn as well.

i strongly suggest you go back and do a lot of ground work with your horse. i saw Clinton Anderson three times live and i absolutely love his methods. there are a lot of trainers out there, but his methods are a sure fire way to get results. after using his methods for one day i could already see a change in my horse. after two weeks, she was a totally different animal. now, one year later, no one can believe that it's the same horse. she comes when she's called no matter what time of day it is. she's safe, respectful and willing to work on the ground and under saddle. and my 4 year old son is now able to ride her in the round pen with no problems at all. it took a lot of hard work. i spend 1-2 hours a day, six days a week with her for the first 6 months, but it was all worth it. my mom was so impressed that she is not having me teach her what i've learned to train her horses.

Answer 5

IM SURE HE LIKES SOME TYPE OF TREATS, HE JUST DOESNT KNOW WAT UR DOING, HE IS PROBLY JUST COFUSED AND I AM SURE U WILL GET TO KNOW HOW HE WORKS SOMEDAY!!!!! DONT GIVE UP!!!!!

if u know the treat ur horse likes BEST(even thou he "doesnt like treats) then get a couple in ur hand but not enough 2 make him fat (lol) and first try 2 walk SLOWLY so u wont scare him, and hold ur hand all the way out (as far as u can straight out) with his favorite treats and hold it away a couple feet away from his mouth and stand there until he steps forward if he does then just stay still and quietly but not whispering start 2 talk 2 him like good boy and etc. then if he comes for the treat then throw the lead around his neck just to hold him while u get the halter on him. once u get the halter i would suggest u 2 leave the halter once ur done riding him so he is easier 2 catch next time(all u would have 2 do is snap the lead rope onto his halter)


have u also tried giving him treats and brushing him @ the same time when u have him caught?


one time with a horse that i didnt even know i had 2 go catch in a big arena @ my friends horse barn where i use to take lessons until i moved then i came bak this summer and visited her well i got put on the spot in font of people w/ another girl and had to go catch the horse w/ no halter,lead, or bribing!!!(it was actually very fun)but anyway
just put some treats in your pocket or hand and walk SLOWLY up to him with no halter or lead rope stand 3-5 ft. away from him and MAKE eye contact then if he doesnt move or anything then start talking to him in a normal voice then if he doesnt come 2 u then start slowly walking w/ ur back turned dont look @ him until a couple of ft. then start snapping ur finger and say come on, or etc. or u can hide the halter and lead behind ur back if u want.

or u can also sit or bend down 15ft. away from ur horse and put some treats in ur hand and just make eye contact until he comes 2 u.

i hope this works for u and ur horse. GOOD LUCK!!!!!

Answer 6

too have an impossible to catch pony. I bought him December 2013 and as of today, 3/30/15 I have never been able to touch him let alone catch him. He was in a stall when I bought him, the owner said he was good with everything, he trailered great, walked on the lead rein with no problem, tied and stood patiently, but once I got him home and turned him out I have never been able to get near him again. Food won t get him to come to you, he ll starve 1st. I have another old horse and he still won t come near. I was told to try feeding him in the trailer, but as he s so nervous when you get close that doesn t seem like a safe bet. I have him in a small round pen at this moment and each day after work I go out and try to catch him but with no luck. So if you managed to catch your hard to catch horse please tell me how you did it.

Answer 7

Not too long ago one of my friends bought a horse and he was great standing at the grooming rack or cross ties and really good while ridding him but that was after you got the saddle on which took an act of god and a fifty fifty chance of getting your head kicked off. He solicited my help and I wasn't all that sure I could do anything more than what I already tried to be able to walk up to him and put a halter on him without all the striking, bucking, kicking, rearing and running around his pen so I did the last thing I could think of and that was to hop off the pen on to his back and grab a hand full of mane then sit on him while he eat his dinner. I would pet and handle him on top of his bareback until he acted like a normal horse. Then I got off his back and stayed in the pen and messed with him some more. After 5 or 6 times (feedings) of doing this, anyone could walk up to him and halter him, problem solved. I'm not saying you need to try this but it WAS the last resort in this case and it worked! who knows, maybe it will work for you. Do note.....This could be very dangerous as I'm sure you know,( I rode Bulls for many years) but maybe? Good luck

Answer 8

Bring some treats in hand and go out to the field with your halter and lead. Other horses will come up to you so feed them each a treat so that this horse won't want to be left out, if you can get close, go to his shoulder and immediately but the lead around him (like you would when putting on a bridle) so he cannot get away. If this doesn't work then try running him into his stall (if the barn is close, no other exits, and no one else is doing anything with their horses-- wouldn't want to get in the way of the little kids on their lesson ponies) .

If all else fails, bring in all of the other horses and he will probably want to come too. Since they are herd animals they don't want to be left alone.

Best wishes!

Answer 9

I wouldn't advise taking food by hand into the field as he may snatch at the feed and hurt you by accident ( I've seen someone nearly lose a finger!!)

If he is turned out with other horses DO NOT take a bucket off feed as you will get mugged by the other horses and trying to catch a difficult horse with his herd surrounding you is impossible.

When you bring him in are there others in the field removing all the others may encourage him to come to the gate as many horses hate being on their own.

How often does he go out? If he doesn't have regular turnout this can make it more difficult to catch him. a horse on my yard is impossible to catch when he goes out but as he is grey his owner keeps him in for at least 3 days in a row so when he goes out he doesn't want to come back in!!!

Have you tried leaving his head collar on when he is out. you can buy field safe headcollars that break if the horse gets stuck cut a lead rope so its about 4 inches long and leave it attached to the headcollar so you have something to grab onto if he gets close.

You could have a go at joining up with him Monty Roberts has a great method to help join up with your horse.

When you approach him in the field dont make eye contact with him keep your head down and tilt your shoulders away from him. This is one of the horses ways to show each otehr that they are no threat. If you search for joining up with your horse you will find more details on this it could really help!

Try going into the field without a head collar and just stroking him without catching him. When you walk towards him keep the head collar behing your back with one hand and the other by your side!

as a last resort get all the members of your yard to surround him in a circle and close in on him when you need to catch him!!

Hope you find a method to help you catch him!! good luck

Answer 10

my horse used to be the same way one lady told me to just follow the horse around walk behind him when he stops you stop after a couple of seconds start walking towards him if he walks away follow him again. He will finally get annoyed and you should be able to catch him. Another thing that i tried (if there is another horse in by him) give another horse attention and ignore him until he finally moves towards you. Make sure everytime you do catch him you praise him and give him a treat.

Answer 11

you alredy got the best answer for a troubled horse its a last ditch effort ! when all else fells pull the water! food treats are for good horses ! CALL HIM TO YOU THEN TURN THE BUCKET OVER leave the bucket with the spilt water same time tomarrow do this again he will have checked out the bucket and the spilt water and come to get it if you wont you can leave him a small swallow in the bucket after a day are so he will get the idea where it comes from after that, he gets the water if you get to put on the halter you win ! food will not work for this kind of horse but water will always win !! this is not for good horses but it wont hurt them cause they will come get the water so they dont go with out